The Garden family — Dom, Rosie, Effie, Penni, Tim and baby Safa with family dog Ralf.
The fact there wasn’t much livestock work on Dom Garden’s Caldwell farm was initially a deterrent for getting a dog. But when the neighbours down the road ended up with a leftover pup in one of their litters, Dom found himself with a new pup.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
Ralf, the short-haired border collie, is now very much a part of the family unit, and while the family still doesn’t have too much livestock work at this point in time, Ralf has found other ways to keep himself busy. Dom’s daughter Effie, 3½, says Ralf loves a pat and likes to play.
How long have you had Ralf?
Dom: He is three-and-a-half years old and is the same age as Effie.
About a week after we got him he started having seizures and he was pretty sick and we thought he wasn’t going to make it. We don’t really know what that was all about, but Ralf seems to have outgrown it though, and hasn’t had a seizure since. These days he is a pretty healthy dog with lots of energy to burn.
So how does Ralf keep himself entertained?
He is very fit and spends most of his day running around the farm. His favourite thing to do is help me during irrigation season and he gets pretty upset if I don’t take him with me. He will chase along behind the motorbike all day or will sit in the tractor with me for hours on end and he loves a ride on the back of the ute. As long as he is busy doing something and he is with someone he is happy.
Ralf has shown quite a bit of interest the few times he has been around sheep.
Is he your dog?
He is a family dog, but he does spend most of his day with me.
Has he been around any livestock at all?
Well, we do have a Jersey cow, and Ralf will help get her in but she’s not that friendly and we are all a bit wary of her.
Ralf has actually shown quite a bit of interest the few times he has been around sheep. I am thinking about getting some in the future but if I do, he will be heading around to our neighbours for a bit of training first.
I think he will make a pretty good sheep dog with some proper training behind him. At the moment, even though we don’t have any livestock, there still seems plenty for Ralf to do during the day and I think he is pretty happy with his life.
How would you describe Ralf?
He loves company and hates being on his own — he is very much a family dog. He just needs a job to do and he’s good.
Effie tells me Ralf loves a pat and he loves running and digging. Dom starts to laugh, because he says Effie is quoting one of her dog books and Ralf has never dug a hole in his life.
